If, like me, you are new to the wonderful world of quilting, you will no doubt be amazed at the amount of jargon used, FPP, EPP, Blocks, Echo Quilting, applique, to name but a few.
I have mastered basic patchwork with squares, trying to align my half square triangles so as not to lose the ‘points’ and quilted a small lap quilt or two. I decided to enter into the world of Foundation Paper Piecing (FPP) and found a myriad of information on the internet and on Pinterest and YouTube.
I was asked if I would contribute to the blog section of the UKQU website and decided it might be an idea to write up my first experience of FPP. I have trawled through many websites and found a lovely scrappy block from Leila Gardunia website and decided to give it a go.
I printed off all the instructions and read through them. Having not grasped it the first time I read it again, and again! It was at this point I thought the best way to try and understand it was to just give it a go.
Armed wit the necessary equipment, rotary cutter, fabric, cutting mat and my trusty machine, I set about with my first block.
This is a great way of using all your left over bits and pieces of fabric that do’nt really have much use for anything, besides, they were great for a bit of practice. I also ‘googled’ the best paper to use and decided on some vellum paper due to its translucent properties.
The block I decided on had 6 different sections to piece together, sufficient to get the hang of it without being overwhelmed with a mountain of tiny pieces to stitch together.
So, off I went and started on the first piece. It seemed like a lot of folding flipping, trimming and pressing but after doing 2 or 3 sections I got the hang of it and flew through the remaining pieces.
Here is my half way attempt, doesn’t look great at this stage but trust me, at the end it will look a whole lot better
These are the first five sections, section 6 was a half square triangle.
Once I had finished the block, I trimmed it down to the required 6.5″ (6″ finished size). I believe the paper stays on the block until they are joined together to help it not to stretch when stitching together.
So here is the final finished block. I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed doing this and think I have now found my new hobby, Foundation Paper Piecing !
Do have a go, its definitely well worth while.
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